First Wave of Fantasia Festival 2013 Films Announced!!!

The Fantasia Film Festival is rapidly approaching, and they have just announced their first round of programming. And I'm not going to lie - it looks damn good.

Opening night festivities include a screening of James Wan's THE CONJURING, and the closing night selection is Edgar Wright's THE WORLD'S END. So already, anyone attending this festival is a lucky bastard. Additionally, this first wave includes films that have been generating quite a bit of buzz, including CHEAP THRILLS, WILLOW CREEK, MAGIC MAGIC and BIG BAD WOLVES.

The festival will also include a performance of Clive Barker's Play, A HISTORY OF THE DEVIL.

Here's the line-up as it stands, so far. More films will be announced in the coming weeks, with the festival taking place July 18th - August 6th.

OFFICIAL CLOSING FILM – Edgar Wright’s The World’s End (Canadian Premiere)

Fantasia 2013 will come wildly to a close on the night of August 6 with the Canadian premiere of UK filmmaker Edgar Wright’s hotly anticipated apocalyptic comedy THE WORLD’S END, starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike and Martin Freeman. As Fantasia was the site of the Canadian Premieres of Wright’s landmark 2004 debut SHAWN OF THE DEAD as well as his most recent SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD, we couldn’t think of a better way to close this year’s festival.

Joining us in Montreal will be Director Edgar Wright and select members of the cast.

SPECIAL LIVE THEATRE EVENT – Clive Barker’s A History of the Devil

Fantasia will again be delving into the realm of live theatre with a special three-night engagement of Title 66 Productions’ acclaimed adaptation of Clive Barker’s play, A HISTORY OF THE DEVIL. An epic show to stage, HISTORY weaves a tale told across thousands of years over the span of a near-three-hour running time. Director Jeremy Michael Segal and his team have created a macabre mounting that writhes with visual invention and primal acrobatics of performance. Black divinity will strike on August 1, 2 and 3, at Place des Arts’ Cinquième Salle.

CONJURE UP THE FRIGHT OF A LIFETIME – James Wan’s The Conjuring

Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, and Joey King star in James Wan’s THE CONJURING - one of the most frightening, intelligent, and well-executed supernatural horror films in recent memory. From the director of INSIDIOUS and SAW. Official Selection: Los Angeles Film Festival 2013.

Part of our Opening Night festivities, this Special Screening is hosted by Actress Joey King.

A Lifetime Achievement Award for Andrzej Żuławski

For his singular vision, passion and bravery, Fantasia is bestowing our 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award to the great Polish master Andrzej Żuławski, director of such individualistic and award-winning acts of filmmaking as POSSESSION, LA FEMME PUBLIQUE and L’AMOUR BRAQUE. A gifted and enormously unconventional talent, Zulawski has created some of the most breathtakingly unique films you will ever see. Feverishly cinematic and often controversial, Żuławski’s filmography explodes with dizzyingly evocative imagery, primal, animalistic performances and raw sexuality and emotion. His work pulverizes societal norms with surrealism, grotesquerie and above all else, honesty, ferociously buzzing with poetry and a black sense of humour. He has remained pure throughout his career, never compromising for the sake of mainstream appeal.

Fantasia will give the award to Mr Żuławski at a special screening of SZAMANKA on the night of July 25. We will also be screening L’AMOUR BRAQUE as a special co-presentation with the Cinémathèque québécoise.

In conjunction with this special event, Fantasia will be co-presenting (with the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies) a rare exhibition of the work of Barbara ‘Basia’ Baranowska - best known in North America for her poster for Zulawski's Possession - the unsung hero of Polish poster art. To kick off the BASHA exhibition, leading scholar of Eastern European cult cinema Daniel Bird will give a talk on the history, styles and influence of the Polish Poster School, including rare clips and stills.

In addition, Mr Żuławski will be participating in Fantasia’s Frontières International Co-Production Market with a new project, DARK MATTER, to be produced by Marcin Wierzchosławski.

We invite you to join us in celebrating the astonishing work of Andrzej Żuławski, one-of-a-kind genius of cinema.

- Presented with the generous support of the Polish Film Institute.

Additional First Wave highlights at Fantasia 2013 include:

ACROSS THE RIVERItaly Dir: Lorenzo BianchiniA brilliant opposition of new and old narratives, this chilling discovery from Italy is the most downright efficient atmospheric horror film you’ll see anywhere this year, haunting with a slow-building, intense crescendo approach to its atmosphere of disorientation and dread. From the director of Custodes Bestiae.World Premiere.

BIG BAD WOLVESIsrael Dirs: Aharon Keshales & Navot PapushadoDescribed in its official marketing as ”a brutal comedy for a mad mad mad mad world”, this gripping, genre-bending tale of vengeance and fury is one of the greatest films you will see anywhere this year. Its launch at the Tribeca Film Festival deservedly saw it emerge as the single best-reviewed title in the festival’s lineup.Canadian Premiere. Hosted by Directors Aharon Keshales & Navot Papushado.

CHEAP THRILLSUSA Dir: E.L. KatzThe directorial debut from E.L. Katz stars Pat Healy (Compliance) as a recently fired father facing eviction who agrees to take on an escalating series of insane challenges in exchange for cash payments from a rich couple with a twisted sense of humor. Winner of the midnighter audience award at SXSW.Canadian Premiere. Hosted by Director E.L. Katz.

COMMANDO: A ONE MAN ARMYIndia Dir: Dilip GhoshBrace yourself for two solid hours of delirious action cinema featuring the superhumanly talented Vidyut Jamwal (THUPPAKKI), who dazzles in an arsenal of brilliantly choreographed, stunt-packed combat sequences that recall Jackie Chan in his prime. See COMMANDO and you will become an instant Jamwal fanatic. Period.North American Premiere.

DOOMSDAYSUSA Dir: Eddie MullinsDirty Fred (Justin Rice) and Bruho (Leo Fitzpatrick) are convinced that the world is approaching its end and consequently see no reason to hold jobs or even have homes. An idiosyncratic instant classic “pre-apocalyptic comedy” evocative of early Jarmusch and Linklater, DOOMSDAYS is intelligent, hilarious and genuinely counter-cultural. It’s an astonishingly terrific debut from former critic Mullins.World Premiere. Hosted by Writer/Director Eddie Mullins.

HALLEYMexico Dir: Sebastian HofmannA haunting and grotesque examination of urban loneliness and emotional decay, HALLEY reinvents the conventions of the modern zombie film by treating the state of living death as a degenerative medical illness. A major breakout at this year’s Sundance and Rotterdam Film Festivals.Canadian Premiere. Hosted by Writer/Director Sebastian Hofman.

I’LL FOLLOW YOU DOWNCanada Dir: Richie MehtaHaley Joel Osment and Gillian Anderson star in this captivating film that is equal parts ingenious science-fiction mystery and heart-wrenching human drama. This is the kind of smart, plausible sci-fi tale rarely told anymore in cinema, a precious gem created with absolute conviction that delivers like an existential powerhouse. From the Genie-nominated director of AMAL.World Premiere. Hosted by Writer/Director Richie Mehta and Producer Lee Kim.

IP MAN – THE FINAL FIGHTHong Kong Dir: Herman YauThe dynamic final chapter of the Ip Man saga! Controversial godfather of exploitation cinema Herman Yau, who helmed the popular prequel THE LEGEND IS BORN - IP MAN reunites with his award-winning UNTOLD STORY star Anthony Wong (an actual martial artist specializing in monkey kung fu) and displays his abilities in all their glory, while his high-caliber thespian skills yield a more nuanced Ip Man than Donnie Yen’s signature performance.Canadian Premiere.

L’AUTRE MONDE (The Otherworld)France Dir: Richard StanleyThe director of HARDWARE and DUST DEVIL returns with an astonishing documentary journey into life on the other side of the mirror. Dive with him into a place hidden deep in the South of France, untouched by the modern age, known as “the Zone”, where magic is currency and the supernatural is a part of every day life.World Premiere. Hosted by Director / Co-Writer Richard Stanley, Co-Writer Scarlett Amaris, Composer Simon Boswell, editor Patrick Tremblay and Cinematographer Karim Hussain.

LIBRARY WARSJapan Dir: Shinsuke Sato In 2019, an elite squad has to fight to save books from aggressive government censorship. Reminiscent of FAHRENHEIT 451, yet surprisingly playful, LIBRARY WARS will keep you on the edge of your seat with its epic action sequences, brilliantly crafted by Shinsuke Sato (GANTZ).Canadian Premiere. Hosted by Director Shinsuke Sato.

METRO MANILAUK/Philippines Dir: Sean EllisA provincial farming family migrates to the heartless big city of Manila and find themselves pulled into a sinkhole of crime and corruption in this gripping, moving thriller that took home the audience award at Sundance. An incredible film.Canadian Premiere.

RETURN TO NUKE ‘EM HIGH, VOL. ONEUSA Dir: Lloyd KaufmanThe brilliant, maniacal mind behind Troma Entertainment triumphantly returns to Fantasia with the hotly-anticipated first chapter of his epic new masterwork – and you’d better be ready for Lloyd Kaufman like you’ve never seen! When evil once more roams the halls of exploitation cinema’s most infamous high school, the demented residents of Tromaville must band together one more time to take down bad taste… and replace it with something even more foul!World Premiere. Hosted by Director Lloyd Kaufman.

THE WEIGHTSouth Korea Dir: Jeon Kyu-hwan A hunchbacked mortician takes delicate care of corpses before they rest for eternity and encounters broken characters as strange as the funeral rituals he sees. Evocative of an especially taboo-smashing version of DELICATESSEN-era Jean-Pierre Jeunet, THE WEIGHT is a major discovery in the annals of subversive cinema.North American Premiere.

WILLOW CREEKUSA Dir: Bobcat GoldthwaitBobcat Goldthwait, celebrated comedian and brilliant director of such black comedy masterpieces as SHAKES THE CLOWN, WORLD’S GREATEST DAD and GOD BLESS AMERICA shifts gears and veers off into left field with this chilling, subjectively shot horror film about a couple on an exploration into all things Bigfoot who stumble onto things most unusual.International Premiere. Hosted by Writer / Director Bobcat Goldthwait.

The Fantasia International Film Festival takes place in Montreal July 18 – August 6, 2013. The festival’s full lineup of screenings and events will be announced on July 9. For more information, visit us on the web at www.fantasiafestival.com.